Welcome!

Thank you for your interest in our research on autonomous agents.

An autonomous agent is intelligent. It has the ability to compose and select among different courses of action to accomplish goals based on its knowledge and understanding of the world -- without human intervention. This does not mean it can’t or won’t ask for help, or keep a human informed. In many cases, humans and autonomous agents will work together and this may require substantial interaction.

The general goals of this study are to:
• Explore people’s expectations and attitudes towards autonomous agents
• Examine how different factors are considered in a decision to rely upon an autonomous agent

The results of this study will be used to help understand how people think about autonomous agents. Ultimately, we hope this study will lead to ideas for development of better autonomous agents.

We will first ask you a few questions to find out a little about how you see yourself. Then there will be a few questions about how you feel about autonomous agents.

We will present you with several such scenarios relating to possible applications of autonomous agents.

Finally, we will also ask for some general demographic information. We do not collect and do not retain any information that can identify participants. All data are anonymous.

We hope you will find this survey thought-provoking and fun. There are no right or wrong answers. You are encouraged to simply be yourself and answer the questions honestly.

You may discontinue the survey at any time. However, the results are most useful only if you complete the survey, and we urge that you do so. We expect it will take about 20 minutes to complete the survey.

This study is funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, a public agency. Neither IHMC nor Dr. David Atkinson, the Principal Investigator, will receive any financial benefit based on the results of this study.

We will collect no information that identifies you personally. This survey uses standard survey methods. Therefore, under federal law we have received a waiver of the requirement that participants complete and sign a consent form. However, you do have a right to know what your rights are. Click on the button below to see your rights and begin the survey.

David J. Atkinson, Ph.D.
Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
www.ihmc.us